Issue 188, Summer 2009 - Telegraph Hill Dwellers

DEPRESSiON ERA GARDEN RAISESCROPS AND SPIRITSLocated on a tiny, 9x12 patch of land literally onthe very edge of a Telegraph Hill cliff, THDmembers Kathleen Dooley, Katie Hopkinsand Astrid Keane have created a modern day vegetableVictory Garden. Starting in late spring, the 3women, with the weekend help of teen neighbor JoeyIngrum, cleared out blackberries, ivy and anise andVictory Gardens make the Hill bountiful.planted lettuce, tomatoes, herbs, squash, radishes, anapple tree and other edibles.Taking their cue from Depression era neighborhoodgardens, they decided to try to grow enoughto feed themselves as well as other nearby neighborswho have contributed, besides sweat power, earthwormcastings as fertilizer ( Glenn Kersey) and thecomponents (soon to be installed byhandyman, Aaron Peskin) for a dripirrigation system. So far, not only hasthe garden produced enough for theirgoal but, unexpectedly , has also producedenough to provide the monthlySt Vincent de Paul dinners for ourNorth Beach homeless neighborswith their salad for the past severalmonths.As the 15 healthy tomato plantsbecome heavy with their crop, theneighbors are now researching themany uses of what looks to be abumper crop and are planning at leastone canning session to produce thebase for many tomato themed wintermeals. Kathleen Dooley says, “Thiswas our first year as urban farmers sowe see it as a trial and error garden -what works and what was a flop andlook forward to an even more successfulvegetable patch in 2010. We are sohappy with the results of this seasonand it has been a lot of fun. It wouldbe great to see more gardens like thispopping up around our section oftown”.36 Issue #188 • Summer 2009